Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. gets ABC's order of a full season

Like a ragtag group of operatives who triumph despite being armed only with the most advanced technology and the backing of superheroes, Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. has earned a full-season pickup, ABC announced today, armed with the backing of its parent company who really wants to make this work. S.H.I.E.L.D. may not be quite the smash hit everyone who isn’t familiar with Joss Whedon shows was expecting, with its ratings having dipped significantly in viewership since its debut. But it’s actually doing pretty well once you factor in DVR numbers, and its last episode even edged out the venerable NCIS for second place in its time slot. Now it will get a whole 22 episodes to maintain or even grow that audience, as it becomes the first Whedon show to get the full-season order since the final year of Angel. And who knows how many more Avengers cameos Whedon can wheedle between now and May?